The present invention relates to iron type golf club heads, and in particular, to a hosel-less type iron club with a bent shaft attached directly to the ball striking face.
It has been known in the prior art that removing weight from the hosel area of a golf club head and repositioning that weight elsewhere is beneficial to the performance of a golf club. A number of commercially available golf clubs eliminate some or most of the hosel altogether. All of this prior art, however, other than putters, use a standard type, straight shaft inserted into the top of the iron or wood type club head. With the hosel removed from these type of clubs, the insertion area or bore hole depth is very shallow which causes adhesion problems. A straight shaft on a hosel-less type club head presents visual problems to a golfer due to a lack of offset. For this reason, the so-called hosel-less irons actually have a small hosel that serves to hold the shaft and create the desired offset the golfer is looking for.
The prior art does not show the use of a bent shaft, particularly a single bend shaft, inserted directly into the club face to create a truly hosel-less iron or wood type golf club. Some putters have a single bend shaft used to create all or some of the offset, loft and lie. Such putters using various compound angles, usually conform with the United States Golf Assn Rules of Golf since the shaft may be attached at any point on the putter head. The rules for irons and woods require that the shaft must be attached at the heel of the club head so that when seen from the face view, the shaft axis is straight and the heel of the club head is no more than 0.625 inches off of the center line of the shaft axis. Any bend or offset seen from the toe view must not extend above five inches when measured from the sole of the club head along the axis of the shaft or hosel.
Referring to the prior art, hosel-less golf clubs are well known. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. D 303,132 to Muta shows a golf club head having a hosel which is connected to the front face of the club head and which extends upwardly with a single bend. U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,235 to Mendenhall shows a putter type golf club head wherein the hosel is connected directly to the ball striking face. U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,806 to Helmstetter shows a hosel-less a club head used with a straight shaft which is connected through to the sole of the club head.
The present invention conforms to all the current U. S. G. A. Rules of Golf for woods and irons while eliminating the weight used in hosels of conventional golf club designs. The shaft of the present invention may be bent in conjunction with the angle of the bore hole so that it enters the club head which has sufficient thickness to achieve an adequate bore depth for proper adhesion strength. This may be achieved using molded composite shafts with bends. Reinforced tips may be also provided on steel shafts, or shafts made of other materials, that will withstand the stress of a golf club hitting a ball and/or the ground without the bend being deformed. With this structure, the bulky hosel is entirely eliminated, thereby shifting the center of gravity to a lower position on the clubhead, making the club easier to swing.
The hosel-less design also provides slightly less wind resistance and there is less mass to get tangled in grass when hitting from rough areas. The present invention contemplates attaching the shaft with a bend directly to the club face using a small shaft receptacle or connecting the shaft directly into the club face without the receptacle.
The shaft may enter the club face at various locations and the bend of the shaft will vary between a minimum of five degrees to a maximum of 180 degrees depending, in part, on the loft angle of the particular club head. One embodiment also contemplates using a shaft with a plurality of bends to insure maximum depth of penetration of the shaft into the club head body.
Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a golf club head with a shaft connected directly to the club face.
Another object is the provision of a golf club head wherein the entire weight of the club head is located adjacent the ball striking face.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a golf club head which is less bulky at the shaft-to-club head connection enabling the club to be swung through heavy grass or rough with relative ease.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a golf club head having a more strategic and efficient location of the overall weight of the club head.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.